"On February 10, 1915, eleven members of Sigma Xi, who were associated with the University of Oklahoma, formed an organization whose purpose was the fostering of scholarship and research.  The members of this group were W. P. Haseman (president), H. V. Bozell (vice president), W. H. Emig, H. H. Foster, C. N. Gould, C. W. Shannon, G. Y. Williams, W. J. Wohlenberg, W. C. Allee (secretary-treasurer), Irving Perrine, and A. W. McCoy.  The last three of these, who left the University during the summer, were replaced in the fall by S. W. Reaves (secretary-treasurer), H. H. Lane, L. C. Snider and I. M. Rapp.  The brief records show that this organization ceased to function after the fourth meeting which was held in December, 1915.
        "Nearly six years later, on October 20, 1921, the first Sigma Xi Club to be recognized officially was organized at the University of Oklahoma by J. K. Breitenbecher, J. C. Davis, H. L. Dodge, Florence Fenwick, J. O. Hassler, Alma J. Neill (vice president), S. W. Reaves (president), A. Richards (secretary-treasurer), William Schriever, and C. W. Shannon.  The eleven other members of Sigma Xi who were charter members of this first Sigma Xi Club were: C. J. Bollinger, C. E. Decker, I. H. Godlove, C. W. Honess, L. C. Lichty, Mildred H. Richards, J. C. Stephenson, S. Weidman, A. J. Williams, G. Y. Wiliams and J. B. Umpleby.  This group began the practice of holding regular meetings, at each of which some members presented a report dealing with his research work.  This group also initiated the practice of having at least one official Sigma Xi lecture each year, delivered by a man who is associated with some other university or research institution, and who is prominent in some field of natural science; the first Sigma Xi lecture was given by Deal Rollin W. Salisbury on October 10, 1921.  Both of these practices were adhered to by the club and are now being continued by the Oklahoma Chapter.
        "During the year 1923-24, at the suggestion of the club, the board of regents of the University authorized the expenditure of a fund for research scholarships to graduate students in the natural sciences.  This fund was soon enlarged and made available for "Research Scholarships" and "Research Fellowships" in all departments of the University offering graduate work.
    "In the summer of 1927, Prof. A. Richards, an active member of our club, consulted National Secretary Edward Ellery concerning the procedure for transforming our club into a chapter of Sigma Xi.  In the fall, Professor Richards' description of this procedure resulted in the preparation of the detailed report entitled "Information for the Executive Committee" by the secretary of the club, William Schriever.  This report was accepted as our informal petition by the National Committee at its meeting in Chicago on April 12, 1928.  National Secretary Edward Ellery paid an official visit to our campus, after which, on April 19, 1929, in New Haven, the Executive Committee voted that we present our formal printed petition.  This formal petition was accepted by the thirtieth convention which met in Des Moines on December 28, 1929.
        "The Oklahoma Chapter of the Society of the Sigma Xi was installed on Tuesday, April 8, 1930.  The installing officers were Prof. G. W. Stewart, National President, and Prof. L. H. Cole, member of the National Executive Committee.  The formal installation took place at 3:30 p.m. in the Great Hall of the Faculty Club with President Stewart as presiding officer.  The formal petition was read by Dr. C. N. Gould, president of the Oklahoma Sigma Xi Club; the action of the National Executive Committee and of the thirtieth convention on the petition was reported by Professor Cole; and the charter was presented by President Stewart to Prof. William Schriever who accepted it on behalf of the new chapter.  The first board of officers chosen by the chapter were: Dr. William Schriever, president; Dr. Alma J. Neill, vice-president; and Dr. L. E. Swearingen, secretary-treasurer.
        "That evening the Oklahoma Chapter enjoyed its first annual Sigma Xi Banquet.  It was followed by the first public meeting of the chapter, which was given over to a lecture by Professor Cole, entitled "Heredity As We See It Today."
        "Since each of the forty-seven petitioners was a member or associate of Sigma Xi, no initiation ceremonies were held at the time the chapter was installed.  The first group of six members and thirty-three associates were initiated by the Oklahoma Chapter on Monday, April 13, 1931, on which occasion Prof. C. E. Mendenhall, a distinguished physicist from the University of Wisconsin, delivered the annual Sigma Xi lecture on the subject, "Waves and Particles."
        "The practices and policies which were embodied in the Constitution and By-Laws of the Oklahoma Chapter by its charter members, after their long experience in functioning as an active Sigma Xi Club, have been found so very workable and satisfactory, that not a single important change has been proposed.  It is unquestionably true that this chapter has greatly stimulated research in the natural sciences at the University of Oklahoma.
Wm. Schriever"

        We might be pleased to note that our chapter received its charter before Harvard, Princeton, or M. I. T.

        Charter Members of the Oklahoma Chapter were: G. E. Anderson, Professor of Geology; E. C. Angst, Assistant Professor of Botany; R. D. Bird, Assistant Professor of Zoology; C. J. Bollinger, Assistant Professor of Geology; Helen B. Burton, Professor of Home Economics; J. C. Colbert, Assistant Professor Chemistry; D. T. Cornwall, Instructor in Geology; J. C. Davis, Professor of Mechanics; C. E. Decker, Professor of Paleontology; H. L. Dodge, Professor of Physics and Dean of the Graduate School; A. S. Foster, Assistant Professor of Botany; C. N. Gould, Director of the Oklahoma Geological Survey; L. E. Harris, Professor of Pharmacy; J. O. Hassler, Professor of Mathematics; L. B. Hoisington, Professor of Psychology; Bruce Houston, Associate Professor of Chemistry; Elinor R. Houston; R. V. James, Associate Professor of Mechanics; R. E. Jeffs, Associate Professor of Botany; C. E. Langford, Professor of Chemical Engineering; Dora McFarland, Assistant Professor of Mathematics; Elsie Jeannette McFarland, Assistant Professor of Mathematics; E. D. Meacham, Professor of Mathematics and Assistant Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences; F. A. Melton, Associate Professor of Geology; C. A. Merritt, Assistant Professor of Geology, Alma Jessie Neill, Associate Professor of Physiology; C. E. Olmsted, Assistant in Botany; A. I. Ortenburger, Associate Professor of Zoology; Roberta Deam Ortenburger; G. E. Raynor, Associate Professor of Mathematics; S. W. Reaves, Professor of Mathematics and Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences; Aute Richards, Professor of Zoology; Mildred Hoge Richards; D. E. Roller, Assistant Professor of Physics; William Schriever, Professor of Physics; P. B. Sears, Professor of Botany; J. C. Stephenson, Professor of Anatomy; L. E. Swearingen, Professor of Chemistry; C. W. Thornthwaite, Assistant Professor of Geography; F. W. Warburton, Assistant Professor of Physics; A. O. Weese, Professor of Zoology; Samuel Weidman, Professor of Geology; M. M. White, Assistant Professor of Psychology; Dorritt Stumberg White; A. J. Williams, Professor of Chemistry.

        In the fiftieth year after the granting of the charter, nine of the charter members remain alive and alert: Clyde Bollinger, J. C. Colbert, Bruce Houston, Elinor Houston, Dora McFarland, Jeannette McFarland, Frank Melton, Clifford Merritt, and Paul Sears.  A hardy lot!

        Among traditions developed in our chapter, several might be mentioned.  The retiring president selects the speaker for the annual initiation banquet.  The past president delivers the address at the first meeting of the academic year.  When possible, it has been customary to have a national Sigma Xi lecturer for one of the meetings, usually in the spring.  Until a chapter was installed on the Health Sciences campus in Oklahoma City, one speaker each year was from the Medical School, and one meeting of our chapter was held on the Medical School campus.

        Through Grants-in-Aid administered by the executive committee, the Oklahoma Chapter has assisted the research program of many graduate students.  Assistance of a totally different sort was provided in the Clyde B. Thompson Award.  This award was established in 1958 by Mrs. Ruth Thompson of Oklahoma City in memory of her son who was killed in a small plane crash in January, 1957.  Clyde Thompson, a graduate student in Geology, was t o have been initiated into Sigma Xi in May, 1957.  The Award consisted of $500.00 of which $100.00 was awarded annually over a five-year period to an outstanding graduate student who had demonstrated unusual promise for a successful career in scientific research.  The recipients were selected by the Executive Committee of the Oklahoma Chapter from nominations made by the various departments.  In more recent years, the University Administration has provided funds for achievement awards to both faculty members and graduate students.

        Occasionally, the Chapter has been called upon to render some unusual but appropriate service.  In 1956, for example, the National High School Science Fair was held in Oklahoma City.   Through Sigma Xi, coordinated tours were conducted to the various scientific laboratories available on the campus of the University of Oklahoma.  In 1963, special symposia were held for outstanding high school science students and their teachers in connection with the Oklahoma Science Talent Search.

        In retrospect, the Oklahoma University Chapter of the Society of the Sigma Xi appears to be thriving and serving a useful function.  May it continue thus!